All of the eighteen animals and parts of animals are shown actual size in this spectacular oversized science picture book. Children can compare and contrast the smallest fish (dwarf goby, length: 1/3 inch) with the twelve-inch eye of the giant squid. They can examine the biggest spider (the twelve-inch Goliath birdeater tarantula), or open out a three-page spread showing the head of the world's largest reptile (the man-eating saltwater crocodile). Each animal is illustrated with eye-popping collages of cut and torn hand-made paper, set against a stark white background, and they look so textured and real, children often want to feel the paper. The final pages provide a paragraph of facts about each of the animals.
You’ll also be bowled over by the companion book, Prehistoric Actual Size. Arranged sequentially from the tiny, hard-shelled protozoan, 500 million years ago, which appears as a dot the size of a period, to the 8-foot-tall South American terror bird, the largest predator, a mere three million years ago, these creatures span the animal families—insect, fish, reptile, bird and mammal—with the most dramatic being just the 6-inch teeth of the 45-foot (or 14 meter) long gigantosaurus. Both books are a browser's paradise for readers who will want to take a ruler to everything in sight. Children can measure an animal (such as an ant, a beetle, or a cat), draw it actual size, and then find out a few fascinating facts about it in books or on the Internet.
Themes: ANIMALS. BODY SIZE. DINOSAURS. MEASUREMENT. SIZE. SUPERLATIVES.
- While younger kids might not appreciate the subtlety of the book's clever "actual-size" trope, readers young and old will love all the close-up views and learn a few things along the way.
- Paul Hughes, Amazon.com
- A thoroughly engaging read-aloud and a must-have for any collection.
- Dona Ratterree, School Library Journal
- Jenkins's life-size depictions of animals--accompanied by extended blurbs in the back--are a wondrous treat.
- Barnes & Noble
- Young zoologists will enjoy seeing how they measure up with the creatures on each page.
- Jessica Bruder, The Washington Post